sorry times infinity

Fable stayed quiet and low, listening to him talk. It felt good to hear the sound of his voice, even better that he wasn't judging her. And it was true - so many had fallen to this strange, unbearable sickness. She shuddered to think about the elderly of the pack - her grandfather included. Would they make it past this? He had gotten so grey in the face this past season. Her heart wrenched painfully. To counteract the sudden, almost physical ache at the thought of her grandfather dying, she tried to take a steadying breath, but it only served to break her up into another coughing fit. Knives raked their way down her throat with every inhale. "You're r-right. I shhould try."

But what could she even attempt? A cure... the thought boggled her mind. "D'you haa-" she paused to cough, "any ideas?" Everything around them seemed afflicted by the oozem the sparkle, the gross - whatever you wanted to call it. Fable's mind turned over and over as she struggled to come up with something that might work. Obviously eating any of this stuff would only make her sicker. "Ssalt can be soothing. This does run to the ocean. Maybe some salt water, some -" she stopped to cough again, loud and wet. "Let me call Alouette. Maybe she bring some of my aunt's things." She called out, a weak and warbling howl.

It was no secret that Theory often sent Lou to trail her, just in case. A rustle of wings in a nearby tree proved her right. Fable laid still for a long while - it felt like an eternity. "Thank you... for the company," she said softly, a little cough punctuating the end of her sentence. Alouette returned after a while, bringing a satchel filled with odds and ends. From the smell of it once it was dropped nearby - astringent, herbaceous - it was a mixture of her aunt's healing stores and her own cooking supplies. Among the items was a stoppered bottle of what she recognized as extremely powerful alcohol. It was some of the last of her father's stash. Alcohol. It was good for cleaning wounds. Would it clean the wound on the inside of her body? Shuddering, Fable dragged herself closer to the satchel and looked over the supplies. Another sealed container - honey. It also soothed infection. Fable used a small empty container from her own supplies and mixed honey, strong alcohol (oh, it burned her nose just smelling it), and some thick, shriveled chunks of ginger. It looked horrible and the smell of it stung her nose, but it almost felt like it was clearing her sinuses. "Alright... bottom's up," she wheezed, slurping up the mixture that made her eyes water. At least the thick honey soothed her aching throat.